tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25937249654931497742024-03-13T22:10:41.425-07:00Far Beyond The RidgeFar Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-50776941838847367232013-09-29T15:03:00.001-07:002013-09-29T15:03:41.892-07:00Trail Of Tears<br />
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The American Bison, once spread across this land, as the sand on the beach. Those that say they know, estimate their number at over 60 million, once upon a time, that is.</div>
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They were wild and untameable, but they were food, shelter, and clothing to those who lived upon these lands.</div>
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By 1890, there were 750 left.</div>
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Today, there is a manageable number. They live on Ted Turner's ranch.</div>
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Manifest Destiny: we're here, it's here, so therefore, it must be ours.</div>
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When I was a boy, my Father never locked the doors. We were never robbed, but i suppose someone was.</div>
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When I was a boy, there were no seat belts. No law to buckle them. People either cut them off, or tucked them into the seats. I stood on the front seat, and if my father had to brake suddenly, he would use the arm bar. We were never killed, but I suppose someone was.</div>
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I would leave the house in early summer morning, to go find a ballgame, or ride my bike, or just find some soft grass to play in. I was five years old. I was never abducted or molested, but I'm sure someone was.</div>
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I remember my mother sending me to the store for cigarettes with just a note. The clerk never questioned it, but you can't do that anymore.</div>
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My father was the fire chief for forty years. When the bell rang, all the volunteers would bolt for the station and the first one there usually drove the fire truck. Most often, it was the least sober among them, as the local tavern was only a block away. The fires got put out, the truck never crashed, but I suppose, somewhere, one did.</div>
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The easiest way to destroy the humans who had been living on this land for ever and one day, was to take away their food, shelter, and clothing. When we couldn't kill the buffalo fast enough to appease our lust for gold and land, we tricked the natives themselves into killing them. It worked.</div>
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I used to like to fly. My dad would take me to the airport to watch the jets take off. Flying isn't fun anymore. Not with x-rays, strip search and the fear of some evil being slipping through and blowing you up.</div>
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And there were no armed guards in school, but of course, there were no drugs to give the kids back then for all the disorders we assign to them now. Funny, no one ever shot up schools back then.</div>
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Have you seen the cars pulled over on the freeway? Whole families just trying to get Little Rock, sitting in the ditch while a small platoon of policemen search their luggage.</div>
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It wasn't always like that.</div>
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I can remember when if you saw a car broke down, you just naturally pulled over to see if you could help. That's just the way it was.. If you tried that now, you'd get searched too. Best to just move along and not be noticed.</div>
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I've hitch hiked, and picked up hitch hikers. But not in a long time.</div>
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And be careful having that third drink with dinner at Applebees. The police are hiding in the bushes watching, timing you. To protect the others.</div>
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Hey! remember this? A person is presumed innocent, until proven guilty.</div>
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Now we have random drug testing (except for the Senators and Congressmen that made it a law. And after all, they only decide if we go to war or not, so what's the big deal if they have a few drinks at lunch) so, now it's-a person is presumed guilty unless they can prove they're innocent.</div>
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I guess that's sorta the same thing.</div>
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Isn't it?</div>
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Crazy Horse, Geronimo, Cochise, Sitting Bull-they were renegades. Non Conformists.</div>
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We tried real hard to convince the natives that they'd be much better off on reservations. Under our protection where they could depend on us for food, shelter, and clothing.</div>
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Most drank the kool aid, and why not? Really, what choice was there?</div>
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But some rebelled, fought back, even though they knew they would fail. In their hearts and in their spirits, they had no choice.</div>
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I didn't grow up with Wal Mart, but we have them now. Seems silly to plant a garden or even learn how to, when we can get it all so much cheaper and prettier at Wal Mart. And if you can't afford Wally's apples, our government will give you stamps so you can. And why learn to sew if poor children in Bangladesh will do it cheap.</div>
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Ben Franklin said, "Those that would trade their liberties for temporary security, deserve neither, and will lose both."</div>
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I guess we're all living longer now, and some would say better. But I can't help but wonder when the measure of life became a yard stick rather than weights. I still remember when life weighed less than a feather.</div>
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Chief Joseph tried to be a renegade, but one day, just short of winning, he said, "I will fight no more forever"</div>
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That makes me sad.</div>
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But now we have the New York Police to weed out the renegades. If you look like one, you'll be considered one.</div>
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We once told Gorbachev to tear down the wall. So he did. Now we have built a great wall of soldiers to keep out the lazy, drunken, stinkin no good Mexicans. Can't have them coming up here raping our women, selling their drugs, stealing our jobs. We didn't mind them washing our windows or picking our fruit for a quarter an hour, but they've just gone too far.</div>
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I tried to think of all we've warred with, Canada, Mexico, Britain, France, Spain, ourselves, Russia, Germany......Damn! It's just easier to list Nations we haven't warred with. Have we fought the Swedes?</div>
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Well, there's still time.</div>
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We told Saddam we won't tolerate WMD. Didn't we put him in power? Ha! turns out he didn't have any anyway. Jokes on him! Now it's Syria's turn. They may have gassed a thousand people.</div>
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Um, wasn't it us that dropped two atomic bombs on cities of civilians? Women, children, old people, dogs, whatever. How many did we kill? How many are still dying?</div>
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I don't remember our apology for that. Do You?</div>
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If that wasn't WMD, I guess I have the definition wrong.</div>
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No matter. We're all safe. Fully protected and taken care of.</div>
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We live longer and safer now. Soon we'll all have health insurance. And no, you wont have a choice.</div>
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And we have Face book, free porn, playstation, football, and reality TV to entertain us, control us, while our protective government takes care of the serious business.</div>
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I used to wonder what it was like, before we got here. When teepees were the cities of the Plains. When time as we have invented it, didn't exist. When every day there was a danger of dying, but no one feared. The grizzly, the panther, and the wolf roamed border to border. There were no laws other than those written upon the heart. Those that lived, lived unmeasured by length.</div>
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And I wondered what it was like to have it all taken. To be put on reservations.</div>
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But I don't wonder much anymore. I think I understand.</div>
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I am a renegade, in the manner of those before me. I too will lose. But my heart wont let me surrender</div>
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.</div>
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The lilacs still bloom</div>
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but the fragrance has grown dull</div>
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the stars have gone dim</div>
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the moon has lost it's mystique,</div>
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and need</div>
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while the sun has become our blister</div>
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that shall never heal</div>
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we no longer sprint</div>
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through the woods, tripping over</div>
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boulder and log</div>
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out of breath</div>
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bruised and bleeding</div>
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to watchful clouds</div>
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of silver glory</div>
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and the whispering of</div>
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a laughing brook</div>
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waiting for our fall</div>
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we now march</div>
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across a barren desert</div>
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only to reach the other side</div>
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alive</div>
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but so far</div>
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from living</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-27459195872125072332013-08-13T04:00:00.000-07:002013-08-13T04:00:04.937-07:00assorted random thoughts<br />
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I have always been lonely</div>
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innate</div>
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it is your clinical condemnation</div>
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that has made it a crime</div>
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I was only truly me</div>
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when i was me</div>
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truly, with you</div>
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when the river rolls by</div>
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when the train disappears</div>
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the best part of me</div>
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always goes along</div>
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leaving me</div>
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with what little remains</div>
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<br /></div>
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a warm fire</div>
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is like a mother's apron</div>
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~there lies the danger</div>
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<br /></div>
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if it's cat,</div>
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why isn't it citten?</div>
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a shrug</div>
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is a poor excuse for ignorance</div>
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i have a boss who pays me,</div>
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a banker to count my money</div>
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and a salesman eager to clean my carpet</div>
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we vote for sunny smiles</div>
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and my wife cooks well</div>
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if i say "I love you"</div>
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just right</div>
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don't kid yourself</div>
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we're all prostitutes</div>
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words cannot be trusted</div>
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unless spoken in hate</div>
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no one truly desires to be free</div>
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who would we blame</div>
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for our misery?</div>
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<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-58668683156765754772013-08-09T02:00:00.000-07:002013-08-09T02:00:06.981-07:00Sorry<br />
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you never should've loved me</div>
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i should've never let you</div>
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i'll always be</div>
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two places at once</div>
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a monument for pigeons</div>
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to adore</div>
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pollen on the wind</div>
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untraceable</div>
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a malcontent, incurable</div>
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a conscience intruceable</div>
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a peace loving</div>
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war machine</div>
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i am a wanderer</div>
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flower to heart</div>
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smile to touch</div>
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forever</div>
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looking beyond</div>
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hating what lives</div>
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within</div>
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i could never please you</div>
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nor me</div>
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and you could never hold</div>
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my ever restless heart</div>
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race on, i must</div>
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into oblivion</div>
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leaving ruin</div>
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in my wake</div>
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all this </div>
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i have known</div>
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since first</div>
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i began to know</div>
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yet,</div>
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i paused to love you,</div>
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let you</div>
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love me</div>
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knowing</div>
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the shifting winds</div>
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and changing tides</div>
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would pull me along</div>
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I'm sorry</div>
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i let you love me</div>
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but i'm not sorry</div>
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i loved you</div>
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it is my way</div>
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i wish</div>
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you had known</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-48282836078496433042013-08-02T02:00:00.000-07:002013-08-02T02:00:07.685-07:00Castle of Sand<br />
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hypnotized by the ocean</div>
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swept up, in her dreaming arms</div>
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i believed i could</div>
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so there, on her lonely beach</div>
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i built a castle</div>
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from my shifting sand</div>
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the sun rose, set</div>
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moon upon moon</div>
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yet build, even in sleep</div>
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did i</div>
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when at last, it was finished</div>
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i sat back to admire</div>
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my accomplishment</div>
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oh, it was grand!</div>
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who knew, such ability</div>
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was hidden within me</div>
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with a longing to save it</div>
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to protect it, from</div>
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storm and tide</div>
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i sought to move it</div>
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having forgotten</div>
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i built it, from</div>
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my shifting sand</div>
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the tides did rise, the </div>
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storms did come, and i learned</div>
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the limits of my dreams, reside</div>
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on the edge of hope</div>
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i went to the sea</div>
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one day, to say i was sorry</div>
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but the sea didn't care</div>
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and the sand lay solemn</div>
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filled with contempt</div>
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for making it</div>
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believe i could</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-43317328846172487222013-07-28T14:42:00.004-07:002013-07-28T14:42:59.332-07:00My Education<br />
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ever know a night that sleeps,</div>
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like the echo of starlight whispering?</div>
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it's just after midnight, the blizzarding winds</div>
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long gone, the flakes now tempered</div>
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to soft white daisies, signature</div>
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to a masterpiece</div>
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the moon, a shadow of itself,</div>
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drifts through the clouds left behind</div>
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singing a silent song,</div>
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an ancient remedy</div>
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I park my beat </div>
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off the road forgotten, </div>
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look to the forest still,</div>
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and step into whatever</div>
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mystery her painted splendor</div>
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might unravel in my </div>
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tangled heart</div>
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in school, i learned mathematics</div>
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to better know my failings </div>
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-and others success</div>
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and English, so i could be stupid</div>
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or brilliant, depending on my company</div>
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i learned history, so i could learn war,</div>
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Politics, to learn there is honour</div>
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in deceit</div>
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while Geography, taught me of dreams</div>
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I'll never capture, and mountains</div>
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I'll never climb, because of seas</div>
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I'll never sail</div>
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love taught me hurt, friends~betrayal</div>
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and time</div>
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taught me age</div>
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for the price of my youth</div>
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<br /></div>
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I've worn out my heart</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
with learning</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but nothing more important</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
than what that night taught me</div>
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among the peace laden trees</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
so long ago beyond</div>
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the shores</div>
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of Lake Rebecca</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-17367650174188985002013-03-20T20:23:00.000-07:002013-03-20T20:23:48.162-07:00Crazy In The Mountains<br />
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she's the woman of the crazy mountains</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
aptly named for an adopted daughter</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the snows blow fierce around her tiny cabin</div>
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buried deep in season, while inside </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
bark and roots tea boil in heavy scent.</div>
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just a frosted window away, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the only friends remaining</div>
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fly branch to feeder, </div>
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<br /></div>
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she paints</div>
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these, and whatever else</div>
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may happen by, be they clouds,</div>
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sunshine's shadow on the peaks</div>
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or the fox deep in hunt</div>
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<br /></div>
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but this, no one sees as no one dare</div>
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the darkness playing in the pines</div>
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where the sentry crows stand </div>
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careful watch over wonder or reason</div>
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<br /></div>
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when she makes it to town, a birth wide</div>
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is given by fear masked as respect</div>
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by those who will whisper later</div>
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to shaking heads at the coffee shop</div>
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just after she's gone</div>
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<br /></div>
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her paintings, her jewelry, her carvings,</div>
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molasses and honey, are all sold by the man </div>
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at the trading post who knows well to turn a nickle</div>
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from the lunacy he quietly admires</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but never admits</div>
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<br /></div>
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she never speaks when in town</div>
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and only quietly when alone.</div>
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just a nod or a note sufficing.</div>
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if a trace of smile lingers</div>
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in her plowed field of face</div>
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it is well guarded by the eyes</div>
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which long ago stopped looking</div>
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<br /></div>
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she may have gone to Berkeley</div>
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-for a year, may have swooned to </div>
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Janis at Woodstock, and somewhere</div>
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far beyond the reach of telling</div>
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there may be a child long ago run free</div>
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<br /></div>
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she no doubt was a child herself</div>
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in a world since forgotten</div>
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and who knows, there may even</div>
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have been ideals and a God</div>
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who pretended to understand</div>
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<br /></div>
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but now another spring has come</div>
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the snows melt and run</div>
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while her tattered laundry</div>
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flies wild in the breeze</div>
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welcoming the bluebirds come to nest</div>
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in the peace of her silence</div>
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<br /></div>
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she'll die here</div>
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and no one will listen</div>
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to the song that was never sung</div>
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from this woman </div>
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adopted by mountains too crazy</div>
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to turn her away</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-51801160538135850652013-03-14T03:30:00.000-07:002013-03-14T03:30:00.484-07:00The Orchard<br />
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to the orchard i flew</div>
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famine to the feast</div>
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from the gate flew the troll</div>
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saying, eat as you please</div>
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but mind the caveat</div>
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<br /></div>
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some hold a poison</div>
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worse than many deaths</div>
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<br /></div>
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red ripe and delicious</div>
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were most of the apples</div>
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while others couldn't hide</div>
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their blemish</div>
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the latter i trusted</div>
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more than the former</div>
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<br /></div>
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but no matter, just the same</div>
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as only pretend to eat, did i</div>
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<br /></div>
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in truth, i took bow and quiver</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
shooting them all from the trees</div>
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to poison the worms that</div>
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poison the birds</div>
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<br /></div>
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yes, starve i will</div>
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but of all the deaths</div>
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mine, will be </div>
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the most honest</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-80851751419039272142013-03-11T03:30:00.000-07:002013-03-11T03:30:03.112-07:00Texture<br />
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i don't need a new colour</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this world's full of colour aplenty</div>
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~it's all part of the game</div>
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<br /></div>
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but the feel of fall leaves underfoot</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
July grass, heavy with dew to bare feet</div>
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an ethereal petal from the softest lavender flower</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
fresh off the bloom, falling softly</div>
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<br /></div>
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i've known steel girders and rusty bolts</div>
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brick upon brick, the sturdy fortress</div>
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i've been the white line down angry highways</div>
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the barb along wire, catching innocent fur</div>
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<br /></div>
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stamp and step, clickety clack</div>
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the cold of locks, the hardening</div>
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of bitter remembrance constructs</div>
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and muscles this iron tower</div>
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of pinioned solitude within</div>
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<br /></div>
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i need a new texture</div>
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layers of peaceful</div>
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gentle delight</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the cool of a spring brook</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ensconcing my upturned palm</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a single snowflake finding rest</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
upon my shoulder</div>
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a light breeze from eminence,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
that barely stirs</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
engineers need steel and mortar</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
blueprints, their bible</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but me, the dreamer,</div>
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having fallen upon their bridge</div>
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hanging by tired grip</div>
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wishes to let go</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
hoping the softness will catch me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
making me it's own,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
taking me along</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-20330802446924673892013-03-06T03:00:00.000-08:002013-03-06T03:00:04.977-08:00Where I'm Happiest<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
wherever i am,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
mostly so,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i find</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i am happiest</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
farthest </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
away</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-23962674490831114602013-03-03T03:30:00.000-08:002013-03-03T03:30:01.454-08:00Truth Stripped Bare<br />
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you know, she said,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
raising the knife</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i really hate that song</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
barely taking notice</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of the blood's first trickle,</div>
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she gave the look of one</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
having swallowed sour milk</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
when he asked,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
how bout the movie?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
finally, with time running out</div>
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and the game on the line,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he heaved one from half court</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
did you get a chance to read</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
that book I gave you?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this one wasn't even close</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
as the buzzer sounded</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the ball rolled to a stop</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in the dark corner</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this is why men fish secret holes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
alone, along silent river banks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
why women stare endlessly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
out small kitchen windows</div>
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while drying dishes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
already dry</div>
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<br /></div>
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it's why women kneel the dirt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in flower gardens</div>
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why men drink beer</div>
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in garages</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
why children</div>
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go outside to play</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it isn't wrong</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and it isn't right</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
just an inconvenient truth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the gentle lies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
long ago spent</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for the purchase</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of another's soul</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-35991254213767062182013-02-26T18:21:00.004-08:002013-02-26T18:21:57.084-08:00Carrie's Confectionery<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qZCPofS-Vhw/US1tbzIot7I/AAAAAAAAANY/JezhMW_Fqo0/s1600/cndystr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qZCPofS-Vhw/US1tbzIot7I/AAAAAAAAANY/JezhMW_Fqo0/s1600/cndystr.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Sheriff doesn't like trouble in his town</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
watched too much TV with his old man</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
~thinks he's Matt Dillon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but has a splash of Barney Fife</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
when Zelda's Hideout, at the edge of town</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
got too rowdy, he slapped spur to hide, so to say,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and busted their ass good!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
some guy fixes computers there now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Silver Dollar on East Main gets by ok,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
cuz they have some kid leave an envelope in the Sheriff's mailbox</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
every Thursday at midnight</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but Corky's Tavern on Maple didn't fair so well</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Corky said, "Fuck that shit!"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and went to the city council</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
unaware how well traveled the envelopes were</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That's just the way it is, love it or leave it</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
or,</div>
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hide the tree in the forest</div>
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<br /></div>
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Carrie's Confectionery sits smack dab on Main Street</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
between the Fire Department and Post Office</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
across the alley, in the back, is Jack's Bait and Tackle.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and never mind that there ain't a fish to be caught for forty miles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and never mind that, how in the hell can anyone make a living</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
selling candy, fine linen, and used books.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
what matters, is the hidden tunnel under the alley that leads</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
from Jack's to Carrie's. The one the bootlegger's dug way</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
back in the 20's. The one the Sheriff doesn't know</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
anything about.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
oh, he strolls into Jack's now and then, jus cuz ya never know, and Jack</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
sells guns.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but he never goes into Carrie's. Barely gives the front window</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a passing glance. Not that it matters.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
all the action's in the deep basement that's been sound proofed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the big stud poker game, the moonshine whiskey, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the bar you can smoke weed at,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the girls the Sheriff thinks are Jack's cousins who </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
live in the apartment above the bait shop,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the makeshift bedrooms where a person can sleep it off,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
or get it on, before walking out Jack's front door in the morning,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
tipping the hat to the Mayor.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it's all there to be had in Carrie's Confectionery,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
where almost nothing ever sells</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the Sheriff never looks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-28862932260393214652013-02-26T03:30:00.000-08:002013-02-26T03:30:02.674-08:00A New Day<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
open yer eyes boy!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
open them buggers wide</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a new day's a dawnin</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the sun is at the gate</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
foot on the block</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
waitin to blaze</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
~waiting for you</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the storms of yesterday</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but a remembrance</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
while the lazy wheat and</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
eager flowers in youth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
mime happily to the wind</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
rise up! rise up!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
let's be on our way</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
breaking the bonds of gravity</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
feet to the quick</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
high stepping eager hope</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
we can do it once again</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
if we can forget why we stopped</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
turn away from barkers and clowns</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
throw stardust pound to the penny</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
so many days have been stolen</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
too many a day surrendered, so</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
today, we'll turn this ship downwind</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and just let er ride,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
forgetting the chains</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
that stole our once</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
easy drift</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-6307029007363891752013-02-22T04:30:00.000-08:002013-02-22T04:30:01.173-08:00Remembering You<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRGuoW6ZM9M/UP9vO85yW4I/AAAAAAAAANI/HC-nByB0lzk/s1600/frost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRGuoW6ZM9M/UP9vO85yW4I/AAAAAAAAANI/HC-nByB0lzk/s1600/frost.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in the stillness of the night</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
moon giving no quarter</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i remember you through</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the crystal pane</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
your skin smooth and warm</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
beneath my trembling touch</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
your warm breath whispering</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
love songs upon my neck</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i see you now and then</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
along the highways i travel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and even feel you in the</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
fresh morning breeze </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
you've become the cool of the dew</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the warmth of any fire's blaze</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and a stranger's smile in the</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
afterglow of a glance returned</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i sing to you</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
when the lyrics speak your name</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
always wondering</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
if you hear me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but it is in the stillness of the night</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
somewhere between frosted glass</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and pregnant moons</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
where i remember you best</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-76471632465589258832013-02-18T04:30:00.000-08:002013-02-18T04:30:00.313-08:00Lost In The Fog<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i wear the night as London cloak</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
through fog heavy alleys upon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
cobblestone brick, cold</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and high collared</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
somewhere in this dark passage</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
is a door hiding the hearth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
full of warmth, ethereal glow,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and rest, to the lonely of lonelies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this cloak i wear not by choice</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but by reason of insanity</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for what else could it be</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to have already passed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
so many doors of shelter</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the morning will come</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
once again finding me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the desolate outcast</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
blinded by the dark</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of the high collars</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i insanely call comfort</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-53098608875544764282013-02-12T21:25:00.001-08:002013-02-12T21:25:38.955-08:00Strangers to Friends<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are places, where broken dreams and broken hearts come together to mend.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Malcontents and wishful thinkers find cliffs to cast their hopes from, ponds to skip their thoughts, one, two-threefourfive across.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The sweet Georgia spring night was conjuring in dust whirls along late night streets, the street lamps yawned. It was Monday.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I felt the tug, and the dust whirl led the way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The irony of Crowded House playing "Don't Dream It's over" could not be overlooked in the near empty lounge.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There was she, behind the bar doing the nails that had already been done. There was he, a local for sure with rehearsed banter. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He tanked the boredom with economy fuel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"Slow night" </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She didn't look up, or waste words either.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"I've made three dollars"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There was a ridiculous poker game going on and i glanced the players.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The pretty young girl that would be a fashion designer until the funds ran out halfway to her dream.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The hotel manager from India who didn't give a shit about this Georgia hotel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The old man, and the big wampum liar telling his stories ten floors above the flag.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The piles of chips looked impressive, but held as much value as the liar's fables of being shot twice in the head in Iraq. Oh, men have been shot twice in the head in Iraq, but those men don't brag~they struggle to forget.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"I used to eat monkey brains in India," The liar tossed out like a baby throws its pacifier.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The man from India couldn't let this one slide.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"They don't eat monkey brains in India."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You have to love a terrible liar, they never let truth be a burden.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"Yes they do. They did where I was."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The facial ping pong was priceless as the manager fingered his cards.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"And where is it you were?"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The liar's bullet wounds were causing amnesia.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"I can't remember."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"Well," the man from India put forth. "Was it North, East, West, or South?"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The liar was stumbling badly, obviously over matched.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"Um, I can't remember, now."</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The dark skinned manager was satisfied, nodded, and looked back to his cards.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I turned to the bartender and we quietly laughed together.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
An hour ago, none of us knew the others. Three hours from now, we would all be hugging each other, saying goodnight, as the manager on wobbly legs told us he really had to close down as it was an hour past last call. He hugged everyone too.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In between, we swapped stories. Some true, some not-it didn't matter. We argued over music. We danced. The young failed fashioner wore my coat as we all went outside in a group to smoke. She and I smiled at each other like lovers, because that's what we needed. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The liar's stories grew ferociously and we pretended to believe him, because that's what he needed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The old man and local boy went home, but three men and two women came in to take their place and we welcomed them like cousins to a reunion. They brought a dog, which quickly became our dog, too. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The bartender made seventy dollars in tips, I gave the pretty girl a half a pack of smokes and my lighter. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The liar said he was going to Arizona to fix global warming. We wished him well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is how it was on a Monday night in Georgia. A group of strangers that needed something, and friends willing to give it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-68906416130980228272013-02-08T04:00:00.000-08:002013-02-08T04:00:12.233-08:00The Jester Has Retired<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the king is dead</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
long live the king</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
young and old</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
rascals and noblemen</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
born royal, worthy</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and wanting</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i've played for them all</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i've swallowed the sword</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
juggled the daggers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
told jokes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
until the only punchline</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
is me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
why, i could make myself disappear</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
over here</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and then </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
*poof*</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
reappear over there</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a clap of the hands and off i'd run</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
all yellow bloomers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
with black stars</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and a hat full of tossles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to conceal my wares</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
pull a rabbit from a hat?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
phtt! child's play to a jester</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
able to pull a hat from a rabbit's ass</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and convince it's a crown</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the Queen is dead</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
long reign the queen</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but where is the jester?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and who now will amuse?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the jester is gone</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and all of his tricks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
hats for hooks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and bloomers to rags</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he'll dance no more</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the limp fangled jig</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for the game has gone old</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the jester, out of jolly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
shall bow no more</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-29189689956128975812013-02-04T04:00:00.000-08:002013-02-04T04:00:03.662-08:00Losing My Religion<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i sat upon the rocks at the edge of the sea</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
just a boy head full of dreams</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
all heart full of want, upon a tide</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
chartless of course</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i rode a train across Thailand</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
thundering to a destination</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i hoped to never reach</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but this, my secret locked tight</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the mountains loomed in the distance</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i hoped to never lessen, for their peaks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
once conquered, would be too much feast</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for the want i craved tight fisted</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the seagulls spoke my religion,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the sky cathedral to my claims</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
chimed hallelujah to the virgin spirit</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
lost in the wildflowers of the ruling horizon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the ridiculousness of youth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
oblivious to wisdom past</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
knows no friend among man</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
nor enemy among gods</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but time teaches our faults</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
through a jealous rage stamping</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
failure upon wistful dreams</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
while horizons paint a faded canvas</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the loss of this immortality</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
through the consummation of time to self </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
resides in the fable of destination</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and peaks without fire, too near</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it is divorce now i seek</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
from the cruel master i've become</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
so free i may be, to forget what i've learned</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and find my first love abandoned somewhere</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
among restless seagulls and aimless tides</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-52475477940964573722013-01-29T04:00:00.000-08:002013-01-29T04:00:18.099-08:00We Are Not Fooled<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ribbons and bows</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
buttons and baubles</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
everything wrapped neatly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for the Christmas parade</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
rainbows painted cream</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in perfect arch</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
says all is well</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
fair winds to all dwellers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
hot air balloons</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
red white and blue</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
sails to the mast</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
bright clean and flying</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
across placid seas</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
beneath it all</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
lies corruption</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
motives of murder</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
plans of deceit</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the dagger of betrayal</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
life is not a decoration</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
on frosted birthday cake</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
nor the frills</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
on that pretty white blouse</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
life is the day after Christmas</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the storm that shreds our sail</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
while the weakness hidden</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
deflates our balloon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this is not bad, it just is</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the knowing</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of storms lurking danger</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
should not stop us</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
from taking our flight</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
against all odds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it's what makes us human</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and animal, and alive</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
defining hope on bent dreams</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
decorated </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
by illogical desire</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-79075818034425604482013-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:002013-01-25T04:00:17.277-08:00The Non Poet<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i have been accused</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
wrongly and unfairly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
some,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
maybe one, maybe two</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
have labeled me a poet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
out of kindness</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i am no poet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
have never aspired to be such</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and will not serve if elected</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i use not the words of a poet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
because my heart is a bloody muscle</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
that i butcher every day</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
then leave for the flies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
poetry is an art</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
where words are crafted</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and woven to impress</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i'll not play puppet master</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to paint pretty the gore</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
bleeding from my soul</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for such small gain</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i write my thoughts, just as they fall</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and if poetry they somehow</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ridiculously and accidentally</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
appear to emulate</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i hereby apologize </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to all poets everywhere</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
so please, accuse no more</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
lest i believe the lies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and be cursed forever</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
only to be found</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a sham, under scrutiny</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i am not a poet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i am a butcher</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and a poor one, at that</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
*****************</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
susan dey was in a movie, the title eludes me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but she was on the steps talking with a boy about fucking.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the boy said, "don't you mean making love?"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
she looked at him hard, then looked away before answering.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"you make love~i fuck"</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and so it is my friends. You make love. I fuck</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
~rick</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-73228316292930666192013-01-22T20:49:00.002-08:002013-01-22T20:49:52.091-08:00The Haunting Waters<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzT4tz8CQ5o/UP9r2OoZIyI/AAAAAAAAAM4/wr5_BzKFBQk/s1600/A21PCHCA45X477CA9BKOG9CAJS0ZASCAJTCLJDCA9GVGP2CAJXRLD5CAIHIFSTCARWWS65CAYF1WECCAJUDFNHCAWVKBZ2CABEVOHMCAT877H8CA4548JNCADE2GQXCAZLWKGTCA2XEBQPCATAOYPPCAW7MP2C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzT4tz8CQ5o/UP9r2OoZIyI/AAAAAAAAAM4/wr5_BzKFBQk/s1600/A21PCHCA45X477CA9BKOG9CAJS0ZASCAJTCLJDCA9GVGP2CAJXRLD5CAIHIFSTCARWWS65CAYF1WECCAJUDFNHCAWVKBZ2CABEVOHMCAT877H8CA4548JNCADE2GQXCAZLWKGTCA2XEBQPCATAOYPPCAW7MP2C.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the morning is clear, bright, and silent</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
as i walk the little road to the bridge</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the deaf dog of no understanding walks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
by my side, that being enough</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
from the bridge i look upstream</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to the waters roiling down</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
then turn, to see them roll away</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and never return</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
some days, after a heavy rain</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the stream becomes a raging torrent</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
other times, after endless sunshine,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it barely trickles the timeless stone</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
today, it is what it should be, temperate</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
song to my soul</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
this land is ancient and unmoving</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
unwavering, stoic and strong</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the morning is big in stillness</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and it's boundaries speak</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of passages beyond</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
high up on the ridge, light bleeds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
through the bulwark of leafless trees</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
falling slowly down the hillside</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
spawn to an awakening</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
high above me, geese circle</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
searching for direction and</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i watch them while the hawk</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
who so often has wondered of me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
sits perched, and wonders some more</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
there is much this morning has to tell me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of life, and what is, and what surely</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
must be as it always has been</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
-but it's the waters i hear</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
soon the light will flood the valley</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
stirring the sleeping reality</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
into the convolution</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i'll carry back up the road</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but just now, it's the waters</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
which haunt me, like the winds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
upon mountains</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the cry of the lone wolf</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
deep in the night</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
these are callings spiritual</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
which i've chased on earthen legs</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
only to be left behind</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
with the deaf dog</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the wondering hawk</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the ghosting light</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
upon waters that haunt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
my humanity</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-2768338702000683782012-12-15T15:03:00.002-08:002012-12-15T15:03:50.775-08:00Ripple<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
They say 20 young sprouts</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
were cut down in pre- bloom</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for fools know nothing of seeds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
or a stone thrown</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to still waters</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
history will only record</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the bottom line, and time</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
will forget the missing links</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
little Mary was going to be</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a firefighter</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
saving seven children </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
from a burning house</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the children's children</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Steven would've shared the Nobel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
for curing cancer</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tammy would have flown in</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
under heavy fire, against the orders</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to rescue 27 wounded comrades</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
pinned down</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tommy was going to counsel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
those with aids</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sarah? a politician who</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
finally got it right</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Billy would build shelters while</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Linda performed surgery at Mayo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
some would be poets and singers</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
one or two, teachers nurturing</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a new garden of growth</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and Corrine would have 10 children</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
who would have 23 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
who would have 59</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
now, all that is gone</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and history a liar as</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
thousands of thousands</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
disappeared in the spiral</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
of the twisting wreckage</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the rest of us</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
are wounded forever</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
as one cannot exist</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
separate from society</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
we share the air, the parks</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the fields, our dreams</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
our hope and our lives</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and no one, falls alone</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
do the math</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
feel the ripple</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
hurt</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-73927483791729815112012-12-13T08:47:00.002-08:002012-12-13T08:47:51.080-08:00Santa ain't right<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ME3MiTlFPJs/UMoGjVSYwII/AAAAAAAAAMA/afGpPUd3_6A/s1600/drunk-santa-shoots-himself-in-the-head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bea="true" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ME3MiTlFPJs/UMoGjVSYwII/AAAAAAAAAMA/afGpPUd3_6A/s320/drunk-santa-shoots-himself-in-the-head.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look out! Look out!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he's flyin the Big Jet Blue</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
cracked himself a beer,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
slapped Mrs. Farnnigan silly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and slid down the chute</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the papers are gonna love this one!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
there he goes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
up on the tower</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
run for cover!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he's locked and loaded</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
full rock and roll!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
children scream,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
mother's wail</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wally's tavern locks the doors</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and tips the taps</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
he's in Wal-Mart now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
chewing the heads off Barbies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and Easy Bakin at 425</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
maybe it's all those letters</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
too much love</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
those annoying elfs</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and that whiny Rudolph</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
with the red schnocker</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
doesn't really matter</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Santa's gone postal</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and no one is safe</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I saw momma piss off Santa Claus</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
beneath the mistletoe</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
last Friday night</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
oh, what peace there might have been</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
if momma had given in</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but now Santa Claus is wrapped</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
too tight!</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-18083794989633640112012-12-12T15:46:00.000-08:002012-12-12T15:46:21.512-08:00Busted!Well, that's it.<br />
Blogger in it's infinite wisdom has declared me the spam king, and seeing as the only human being associated with blogger is apparently holed up in a cave in Afghanistan, I'm fucked.<br />
Any comments I leave now go directly to the blog's spam dungeon, and let's face it, who ever goes there?<br />
My guess is that some mean-spirited fellow blogger who isn't too keen on me reported me as a spammer, but who knows! Blogger doesn't need help to screw up.<br />
I would like to thank all the wonderful friends I've known through this blog. A few come to mind, Annie, Sara, Margaret, Kelli, Joy, a couple Audrey's, Carrie, Grace, and of course, Verena, who has always supported my writing. There are many others who dropped by now and then with kind words and I appreciated every one.<br />
Thank you all!<br />
I'll still be reading all of your wonderful poems and stories, I just can't comment to them.<br />
Gotta go now, the blogger cops are beating on my door and I have'nt finished flushing the evidence.<br />
Take care, all, and thank you, again<br />
~rickFar Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-282213660022173452012-12-07T02:00:00.000-08:002012-12-07T02:00:04.030-08:00I miss them<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
when i was young, i had eyes</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
hundred watt bulbs</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in forty watt sockets</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
these eyes, they could see</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
whatever my heart believed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and i followed them</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
losing doubt in the chase</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
fences became possibilities</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
through a greater vision</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
filled with light</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
inextinguishable</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
they saw oceans to be sailed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
mountains i could climb</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
girls i could kiss</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and a me, without limits</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
but the Sun, they say</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
will burn out</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and so as well</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the eyes of the aged</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
walking now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in the shadow's long length</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i miss bargains i could not keep</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and the eyes i failed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to feed</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2593724965493149774.post-49296334830543570142012-12-03T02:00:00.000-08:002012-12-03T02:00:14.140-08:00Knowing Me<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i walked the pier today</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the city skyline just beyond the ships</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and for a moment, as the blaze yellow</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
shot across the cold waves</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i knew me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i was on the ship</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in the water, walking</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the city street</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
un-noticed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
all at once</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
yet not at all</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
last week</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
it was a rocky ledge</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
high above</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the forgotten river</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
or the old farm</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
frozen in time</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the crop of regret</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
growing wild</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
beside shuttered trees</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
just bones</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the train</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
distant</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
barely an echo</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
over the shoulder</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
looks back and</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
reminds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
i don't know me</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
who i am, what i am</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
where i came from</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
where i'm going</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
except</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
every now and then</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
when places meet time</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and i just happen by</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
to see me there</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
in death like</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
shadows</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
looking for form</div>
Far Beyond The Ridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854741339081490896noreply@blogger.com